Sewing with oilcloth.....finally

Hope you've all had a good week.

Since my last blog post I have sewn with the Scottie Dog oilcloth and the black and white print fabric I showed you a couple of weeks ago.

After reading on the Internet about how tricky oilcloth can be to sew with I was actually becoming quite scared of picking it up & sewing with it. Silly really as it wasn't as tricky as I thought. Not trouble free either, I might add.

So here is my first attempt......

Since I hadn't sewn with this stuff before, I went for a basic tote.  I'm generally happy with it and have been using my new bag this week. 

I'm working on some new designs and am hoping to add oilcloth bags to my range on the website very soon.

I thought I would share with you some of the tips for sewing with oilcloth that I have found through my research online.....

• Purchase a roller or Teflon presser foot for your sewing machine as this will help the cloth move more freely as you sew, it will stick otherwise.  If you don't have one you could put masking tape onto your ordinary presser foot.
• Use paperclips, pegs or bag clips to hold fabrics in place as this avoids piercing the cloth with pins.  If you do use pins make sure you pin inside the seam allowance so any pin holes won't show.
• As much as possible when sewing 2 layers, sew with right sides together as the oilcloth tends to stick to the bed of the machine.  A piece of oilcloth right side down taped to the plastic part of the machine bed can help, but don't cover the feed dogs when doing this.
• I've read various opinions regarding what size needle to use.  I think generally a size 16 denim needle is considered to be the type to use, however it's probably best to experiment with some scraps of oilcloth as each machine will cope differently.
• If you are sewing over a number of layers, for example in bag-making; bag straps or side seams, use the hand wheel rather than the foot control if your machine labours at these points. 

I hope that you have found these useful and that if you haven't sewn with oilcloth before and would like to, I haven't put you off!

I also made a clutch bag using the Tempting Tonals black & white fabric.  This was the first time I'd sewn a bag with a front flap.  It was reasonably straight forward however the flap is basted to the body of the clutch by a scant 1/8th" and when I turned my bag back out I could see some the of basting stitches and then I couldn't get it back through the hole to re-do the seam.  A little more practice required I think! 

Anyway this is it.....

I really like this knot & loop fastener I found in a local haberdashery.

I think it's time for me to head over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone has been doing this week.  Why not join me?